Ready Player One posits a future where billionaire James Halliday creates a virtual world that encompasses every form of gaming. He's actually inspired by a real-life game developer who made a fortune off of his games: Richard Garriott.
[h=3]Richard Meets D&D[/h]Richard Garriott was the son of Owen Garriott, a former Stanford physics professor and Navy officer who was tapped by the manned space flight program in 1965. The younger Garriott's backstory is covered in detail in Dungeons & Dreamers by Brad King, but of particular note is how he came across Dungeons & Dragons at a computer camp in Houston:
Given Garriott's creative endeavors later in life, it's no surprise that he tried his hand at Dungeon Mastering. He was happier as a player though, frequently playing as his D&D persona, Lord British -- Garriott was born in Cambridge. His D&D games became legendary affairs with over a dozen players showing up:
But Garriott's true passion was for the nascent field of video game design, and he was continually frustrated by the limited processing power of the computers at school. So Garriott made a deal with his father:
The results of that bet would change the future of computer role-playing games forever.
[h=3]D&D and DND[/h]Garriott was driven. His first version of that D&D-style game was titled DND #1. The rules of the bet required Garriott's game to "work without any flaws" and Garriott took that bet seriously -- his final version was completed with DND #28. Owen honored the bet and Garriott got the computer he wanted, an Apple II. He rewrote DND #28 as DND #28B on his new computer. That game would be commercially released as Akalabeth and set Garriott on the path to become one of the most renowned computer role-playing game designers in the industry.
Garriott's firsts are many, as represented by the above graphic. He created the Ultima series, an immersive fantasy land that helped coin the terms "MMORPG", "Avatar," and "shards" with Ultima Online. He built three leading gaming companies: Origin Systems (sold to Electronic Arts), Destination Games (sold to NCsoft) and most recently Portalarium. He was named "Game God" by PC Gamer in 1999, the ninth inductee into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame in 2006, the sixth recipient of the Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, and named an "Industry Legend" at the UK Develop Conference in 2007.
This made Garriott a lot of money. We don't know exactly how much he's worth, but one indicator of his wealth is that he spent $30 million on a 12-day trip to the International Space Station. Garriott's success emboldened him to create a new virtual world known as Shroud of the Avatar on Kickstarter, a spiritual successor to his Ultima series. Over 22,000 backers pledged nearly $2 million. It could have been the equivalent of the OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation) in Ready Player One. Garriott even launched a contest that, like Halliday, required the players to go back to his gaming roots:
Unfortunately for Lord British, reality wasn't quite so kind to Shroud of the Avatar.
[h=3]Reality Sucks[/h]Shroud of the Avatar was supposed to break the D&D mold of leveling up, allowing players to be anything they wanted to be -- echoing the plans that went awry with Ultima Online. It was not nearly the breakout success of Garriott's earlier creations, but then a long development cycle funded by the public is very different from the previous games he led. Shroud of the Avatar officially launched last month.
Garriott's challenges in creating Shroud of the Avatar shouldn't diminish his contributions to gaming as a whole. When Ernest Cline wrote Ready Player One, he already had a template to build eccentric game designer James Halliday. Lord British has never forgotten his roots as a player and game master, sitting around a table with friends. There are several billionaire game designers, but of them all Garriott is most recognizably a tabletop gamer who followed his dreams.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
[h=3]Richard Meets D&D[/h]Richard Garriott was the son of Owen Garriott, a former Stanford physics professor and Navy officer who was tapped by the manned space flight program in 1965. The younger Garriott's backstory is covered in detail in Dungeons & Dreamers by Brad King, but of particular note is how he came across Dungeons & Dragons at a computer camp in Houston:
After several minutes, Richard leaned down, tapped the leader on the shoulder, and asked him what they were doing. “It’s Dungeons & Dragons,” the boy responded, not looking up. “It’s a role-playing game.” That didn’t help much. Richard had never heard of the game, and he associated role-playing with the occasional acting he’d done in a local theater. He stuck around for a little longer, listening to the game unfold as the dungeon master, the person who created the story with which the players interacted, wove the tale. Other students drifted over, and before long the original group had to stop and explain in more detail. Richard and a handful of others soon joined a game. By the second night, the little lobby was filled with several gaming groups, all telling each other stories of dragons and skeletons and orcs. Girls were as eager as the guys to play, and threw themselves into character with just as much bravado.
Given Garriott's creative endeavors later in life, it's no surprise that he tried his hand at Dungeon Mastering. He was happier as a player though, frequently playing as his D&D persona, Lord British -- Garriott was born in Cambridge. His D&D games became legendary affairs with over a dozen players showing up:
The Garriott home became ground zero for weekend gaming. Adventures would stretch into early Saturday mornings, and after brief rest periods for food and catnaps, they’d slowly pick up again in the afternoon. With so many players, the sessions took on a diverse personality. What had started as a small group of hard-core geeks turned into a social cornucopia. By early 1978, parents started showing up with their kids. The front porch became the recreation area for smokers and drinkers. The group garnered enough attention that the notoriously conservative Boy Scouts even asked Richard’s eclectic group to become part of its organization.
But Garriott's true passion was for the nascent field of video game design, and he was continually frustrated by the limited processing power of the computers at school. So Garriott made a deal with his father:
“Dad, if I can make this game work at school, without any bugs, then you buy me an Apple II,” Richard said, handing his dad the D&D 1 notebook with 1,500 lines of code, scribbled symbols, and charts outlining the mathematical rules for determining the results of combat. Owen laughed. He’d long ago stopped doubting his son’s ability to attack a problem until it had been solved. “If you can make it work without any flaws,” he said, “I’ll split the cost with you.”
The results of that bet would change the future of computer role-playing games forever.
[h=3]D&D and DND[/h]Garriott was driven. His first version of that D&D-style game was titled DND #1. The rules of the bet required Garriott's game to "work without any flaws" and Garriott took that bet seriously -- his final version was completed with DND #28. Owen honored the bet and Garriott got the computer he wanted, an Apple II. He rewrote DND #28 as DND #28B on his new computer. That game would be commercially released as Akalabeth and set Garriott on the path to become one of the most renowned computer role-playing game designers in the industry.
Garriott's firsts are many, as represented by the above graphic. He created the Ultima series, an immersive fantasy land that helped coin the terms "MMORPG", "Avatar," and "shards" with Ultima Online. He built three leading gaming companies: Origin Systems (sold to Electronic Arts), Destination Games (sold to NCsoft) and most recently Portalarium. He was named "Game God" by PC Gamer in 1999, the ninth inductee into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame in 2006, the sixth recipient of the Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, and named an "Industry Legend" at the UK Develop Conference in 2007.
This made Garriott a lot of money. We don't know exactly how much he's worth, but one indicator of his wealth is that he spent $30 million on a 12-day trip to the International Space Station. Garriott's success emboldened him to create a new virtual world known as Shroud of the Avatar on Kickstarter, a spiritual successor to his Ultima series. Over 22,000 backers pledged nearly $2 million. It could have been the equivalent of the OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation) in Ready Player One. Garriott even launched a contest that, like Halliday, required the players to go back to his gaming roots:
Starting April 15th 2014, just past one year into the development of Shroud of the Avatar, and running for 1 month through May 15th, Richard via Portalarium will be accepting submissions of DND1 Resurrections in each of two versions. Submissions may be a Unity Version, and or a no-plug-in Browser Version. Winners will be announced shortly after the submission deadline. Best Unity Version & Best no-plug in Browser Versions will receive a Citizen Level Pledge Reward worth approximately $550. 2 runners up in both categories will receive $165 Collector level pledge each.
Unfortunately for Lord British, reality wasn't quite so kind to Shroud of the Avatar.
[h=3]Reality Sucks[/h]Shroud of the Avatar was supposed to break the D&D mold of leveling up, allowing players to be anything they wanted to be -- echoing the plans that went awry with Ultima Online. It was not nearly the breakout success of Garriott's earlier creations, but then a long development cycle funded by the public is very different from the previous games he led. Shroud of the Avatar officially launched last month.
Garriott's challenges in creating Shroud of the Avatar shouldn't diminish his contributions to gaming as a whole. When Ernest Cline wrote Ready Player One, he already had a template to build eccentric game designer James Halliday. Lord British has never forgotten his roots as a player and game master, sitting around a table with friends. There are several billionaire game designers, but of them all Garriott is most recognizably a tabletop gamer who followed his dreams.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
